Mr. Ping
|gender= Male |image= |films= Kung Fu Panda Kung Fu Panda 2 |shorts= Kung Fu Panda Holiday |television= Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness |games= Kung Fu Panda: The Game Kung Fu Panda 2: The Game |voice= James Hong on IMDB.com |appearance= White feathers |fate= Runs the most popular noodle shop in the Valley of Peace (Kung Fu Panda) Unknown (Kung Fu Panda Holiday) Unknown (Kung Fu Panda 2) |quote= "We are noodle folk — broth runs deep through our veins." }} Mr. Ping is one of the supporting protagonists in the ''Kung Fu Panda'' series. He is Po's adoptive father, who runs the most popular noodle shop in the Valley of Peace. He considers his work deeply fulfilling, and hopes that his son will continue to operate the shop. Biography Beginnings Little is know about Mr. Ping's early life. What is known is that he was born to his father, the noodle-maker and current owner of the Noodle Shop. It is assumed that as Mr. Ping grew older, he eventually received the "Noodle Dream" and told his father about it, who then knew it was time to tell him the "secret ingredient" of the noodle soup and have him take over the shop. He did so, and as time passed, eventually Mr. Ping inherited the noodle shop from his father (presumably from his passing). ]] One day, while gathering the new shipments of vegetables he ordered, Mr. Ping found a baby panda in one of the shipment's radish crates. Surprised, he looked around and waited for someone to come find the infant. When no one came, he decided to keep the child until someone came looking for him. Quickly finding out that the infant was too big and heavy to carry in, he led him inside with a trail of vegetables. He bathed him, fed him, and nurtured him until one day, he came to realize that no one was coming for the child. He then made two life-altering decisions: he would never use radishes for noodle soup, and he would keep the child as his own son. It is assumed that around this point, Mr. Ping named the baby panda Po. and a younger Mr. Ping]] Since then, Mr. Ping had raised Po in the noodle shop, teaching him all he knew as a noodle-maker and aspired that one day, his adopted son would take over the restaurant just as he did from his own father. Until the events in the second film, Po never brought up how different they were from each other, because despite their physical differences, both father and son share a deep mutual love and respect. This shows mainly in the first film in how Po cannot bear to disappoint his father about his differing ambitions, while Mr. Ping eventually comes to respect his son's decisions enough to neither protest nor interfere after the panda is dubbed the Dragon Warrior. In Kung Fu Panda in the shop's kitchen]] At Po's triumph over Tai Lung in the original film, all of Mr. Ping's doubts of his son's destiny vanished as he proclaimed his pride in Po to the world as they embraced. Furthermore, the end credit graphics indicate that Po kept close in touch with his father to the point of temporarily assuming the restaurant's cooking on occasion while Ping established a friendship with the panda's other father figure and master, Shifu. He is extremely skilled at , as shown when he outwitted Shifu in a match. In Kung Fu Panda Holiday The special opens up with Mr. Ping having his cherished "Noodle Dream", in which he and his son Po make an incredibly delicious noodle soup and serve it to a rabbit customer. But suddenly, it turned into a "Noodle Nightmare" with the appearance of an incredibly large version of Tai Lung. Po defeated the snow leopard once again, but left his father, declaring that neither he, nor evil, takes a holiday. As he pleaded his son not to go, Mr. Ping's oven came alive and snatched at him like a frog. This moment of shock caused Mr. Ping to wake up, crying out in anguish. Po, bursting into his room, assured his dad that it was only a dream and that he wasn't going anywhere. Afterwards, that same morning, Po and his father went downstairs, and Po came across the he made when he was a cub. Mr. Ping said that he opened the box every summer just to look at it. Then Master Shifu came into the restaurant to say good morning and assign Po to host the annual Winter Feast celebration at the Jade Palace, which is a highly ritualized formal occasion exclusively for the masters of Kung Fu. Mr. Ping became depressed when Po quickly forgot about their holiday traditions, before Po then rushed off to help the Furious Five defeat a group of boar bandits. When Po learned that he couldn't invite his own father to the feast, he figured that he could hire him as the feast's chef, thus solving his dilemma. Even though Po presented his father the opportunity to cater the feast and the Golden Ladle, Mr. Ping was adamant that he must stay at his restaurant for the lonely people who have nowhere else to eat for the holiday (and who also pay extra). cooking holiday noodle soup]] Once together, Mr. Ping apologized for being unfair to Po about his larger responsibilities and they prepared their food with polished skill to make the informal dinner a success from the start. Soon, the Furious Five and all the visiting masters, moved by Po's loyalty, arrived to participate in the festivities with the townsfolk. In Kung Fu Panda 2 After Po's success and fame as the Dragon Warrior, Mr. Ping continued to work at the noodle shop. But being proud of his son, he made a few changes to his business, marketing on Po's success by renaming the shop and creating a theme related to the Dragon Warrior, noodles, and . After Po had a flashback of his mother, he asked Mr. Ping where he came from. Trying to make an excuse, Mr. Ping said he came from an egg and insisted that Po "not ask where the egg came from." But once he noticed how Po saw through the excuse, he reluctantly admitted that Po was adopted. Mr. Ping continued to explain how he found him in an "empty" box of radishes outside the shop. After a while of waiting for someone to come, he eventually decided on two things: to never use radishes in his soup, and to take him in as a son, commenting on how both his life and soup had never been sweeter. Mr. Ping later heard about Po's mission to travel with the Furious Five over to Gongmen City to stop Lord Shen's weapon, and had already packed Po's things by the time he arrived back at the shop. Mr. Ping put an effort to try and pack things that would remind him of their relationship; these included Po's favorite foods, his Furious Five action figures, and portrait photos of moments he considered precious. This was all done out of Mr. Ping's own worries, hoping that if Po indeed found where he came from, he would still find it in his heart to return. Still feeling that sense of worry, he tried asking Po not to leave, but Po insisted that he discover where he came from. Mr. Ping stood in the middle of the village road and watched as Po and the Five departed. At the end of the film, Mr. Ping was seen dealing with a mother and her son, who insisted that they see the Dragon Warrior for the child's birthday. Mr. Ping politely apologized as he told them he wasn't present. The mother unwillingly suggested they returned some other time to see him, but Mr. Ping then answered that he didn't know if the Dragon Warrior was returning or not. But just a moment later, Po returned to the shop, much to the delight of the customers and Mr. Ping. He then asked if he saved China, then presented a sign that says, "My son saved China — you, too, can save: Buy one dumpling, get one free." Po said he did indeed save China, but also discovered where he came from. Mr. Ping, worried that Po wouldn't love him anymore, panicked, until Po then declared that he was his father. Relieved, both father and son share a hug in acceptance of one another. Mr. Ping then offered to cook for Po, but Po offered to cook as well. But Mr. Ping insisted on cooking and he happily walked into the kitchen with his son. Personality There are three things in his life that Mr. Ping loves over anything else: his son, noodles, and tofu. He is usually happy, humble, and takes pride in his business running the Noodle Shop. In the first film, he is delighted by the prospect of Po being next in the family tradition to own the restaurant after him, though fails to notice Po's obvious lack of enthusiasm to do so. Even though Po chooses to pursue Kung Fu, Mr. Ping is still very proud of him and comes to accept his son's destiny as the Dragon Warrior. He enjoys the Winter Festival holiday in Kung Fu Panda Holiday, celebrating by cooking and hanging decorations, being particularly fond of a Po made when he was a cub. Even though Po continues to work at the Noodle Shop, Mr. Ping may worry about Po leaving him some day, as seen in his nightmare. In the special, he also shows compassion for others when he turns down the high honor of preparing a feast at the Jade Palace so that he can cook for the neighborhood and give any lonely people a place to stay. It is also partly because of his sympathy that Po was inspired to believe in himself and understand the symbolic meaning of the Dragon Scroll, as Mr. Ping offered him the secret ingredient to the restaurant's soup, which was nothing but one's own belief in it being special. Since the events of the first film, Mr. Ping may have lost his best (and only) employee to Kung Fu greatness, but he couldn't be more proud of his panda son. In fact, Mr. Ping has decked out the noodle shop in honor of Po's epic exploits. But like any parent left at home, Dad worries about being forgotten. Therefore he makes sure to always have extra helpings of bean buns ready to feed the Dragon Warrior whenever he stops by.Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Mr. Ping Mr. Ping has also been know to be persistent with money since the events of the first film. This was shown in Kung Fu Panda Holiday when Mr. Ping explains to Po that he can't leave the restaurant because the lonely people need a place to call home for the holidays (and also charge them extra for it). Similarly, in Kung Fu Panda 2, he offers "free" tofu dessert for his customers, but only with purchases. Fighting Style Mr. Ping doesn't fight using punches and kicks, but he makes a mean noodle soup. He comes from a long line of noodle makers; Po and noodles are all that he cares about. Although, once Po became the Dragon Warrior and Mr. Ping changed the name of his restaurant to capitalize on Po's fame, he also began fulfilling his own dreams. Mr. Ping mentioned in the first film that he thought of running away when he was younger to learn how to make , but didn't because it was "just a stupid dream." Because of Po's success in his dream, he has now begun selling tofu in his shop, thus fulfilling a dream he always had.Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Mr. Ping Clothing/Outfit Mr. Ping wears a simple red robe with light yellow lining, and a gold-colored belt with wave designs on it (though this was replaced by a black belt in Kung Fu Panda Holiday to create a Santa Claus-esque image). He is usually seen donning a hat made to look like a bowl of noodles, seemingly made of fabric and balls of yarn, with a pair of chopsticks attached. He also wears bead-like rings on his ankles. In Kung Fu Panda 2, when Mr. Ping explains to Po about his adoption and flashes back to approximately twenty years ago, Mr. Ping is shown wearing a shiny purple overcoat paired with a long braid tied behind his head, all rather than his customary noodle shop robe and hat seen in the first film. Character designer Nicolas Marlet explained this look as a representation of Mr. Ping's "young and crazy days" when he discovered baby Po.Miller-Zarneke, Tracey. The Art of Kung Fu Panda II, p. 35. : Trivia *According to Kung Fu Panda Holiday, Mr. Ping has apparently not been inside the Jade Palace yet. *According to the filmmakers' DVD commentary in Kung Fu Panda, Mr. Ping was originally going to be Po's strict boss. This was later changed. *From a behind-the-scenes featurette on the Kung Fu Panda DVD, the filmmakers also reveal that, when hearing about 's father having a noodle shop, they brought this to his character, Mr. Ping. Gallery YoungMrPingConcept.JPG|Concept illustrations of young Mr. Ping by Nicolas Marlet Mr_ping.jpg|Mr. Ping chopping vegetables in Kung Fu Panda Kung-fu-panda ping.jpg GroupHoliday.PNG|Mr. Ping with Po, Shifu, Wo Hop, and the Furious Five BabyPoBath.PNG|Mr. Ping washing baby Po in a flashback from Kung Fu Panda 2 102 5369.jpg|Mr. Ping in Legends of Awesomeness (View more...) Quotes References Category:Characters Category:Film Characters Category:TV Series Characters Category:Video Game Characters Category:Males Category:Major Characters